The Exchange
by FaithfulWhispers
Summary: A year has passed after the war and the village has been mostly repaired. Christmas is around the corner and Naruto has been attending his regular hospital appointments. Sakura and him have grown rather close, so perhaps this year will be a special holiday? My first ever NS fanfic.
1. Part 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first NS fanfic ever. I wrote this for the NaruSaku Exchange event on Tumblr, for hinata-hinta. I Hope you all enjoy the story and have a happy holiday. Special thanks to my friend John Smith, who's an awesome author here on FF, who proofread and helped me edit.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Staring up at the hospital, Naruto looked towards the window to where he was supposed to go. The sun shone down on him, causing his blonde hair to illuminate. Feeling cold, Naruto snapped out of his daze and headed into the building. His nose felt on fire, as he transitioned to the warmth; however, it was a pleasant transition. Various patients of the hospital smiled and greeted him. People even tried to stop him and chat. Grinning, Naruto waved his bandaged hand in greetings and made his way to his assigned room.<p>

It had been a year since the war and most of the village had been repaired. However, many people were still in healing, including him. Naruto had gone on a few missions here and there since the war had ended, but the missions were over little things, such to his dismay. He always looked forward to his hospital appointments, even though it was out of character for him. There is a special reason why.

Reaching the door to his assigned room, he looked up at the name of the doctor and a grin spread across his face. Leaning inwards, he turned the knob and opened the door, being greeted by a lovely sight.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" With enthusiasm, Naruto greeted his doctor.

Looking up from her desk, she grinned at Naruto. She noticed his nose was slightly red from the cold and wanted him to hurry up and come in.

"Hey, Naruto. You're on time….surprisingly." Smiling at him, she gestured to a stool next to her.

Laughing, Naruto came over next to her and sat down. "Of course I'd be on time!"

Shrugging, Sakura looked at him and thought to herself "Normally, you're late….baka"

"Okay Naruto, take off the jacket and hold out your arm." Sakura instructed him.

Watching him take off the jacket, she noticed he had a little difficultly. It was a black jacket with orange sleeves; he had bought it recently. What she noticed shocked her.

"Is he going through another growth spurt again? Holy cow, how much more will he grow? He just got that months ago!" Thinking to herself in disbelief, Sakura shook her head.

Naruto had gotten the jacket off and sat down. Noticing Sakura staring off into space with her brows furrowed, he waved his bandaged hand in front of her.

"Uhhh, earth to Sakura." He said in a low tone, trying to get her attention.

Snapping back into focus, she looked at his hand and grabbed it; using force, she made him flinch.

"Ow! Watch it, I'm your patient." Whining out, he flashed his cheeky grin at her.

"Oh don't be a baby, get over it." She retorted.

Naruto has been going to Sakura for about a year now as her patient. He needed physical therapy on his new prosthetic arm and she was Tsunade's student who knew her master well. So she was plenty qualified to be his doctor. However, Sasuke denied the arm they wanted to make him. To him, losing an arm was a badge and a reminder to him of what had happened. Naruto just took it as to each their own. He was glad his friend was in the village with his team; however they came and went because of missions. His friend was determined to make up for all his past mistakes.

Looking over his arm, she asked him to do various things with it.

"Stretch out your fingers." Watching him do it without delay, she was surprised. Since he had gotten his arm, he had come a long way and was beginning to use it efficiently. Most of the other patients that needed prosthetics were nowhere near his capability yet.

"Now, I want you to throw this kunai at the target I put up over there." Motioning towards the wall adjacent to the window as she handed him the weapon, Sakura's voice held skepticism that he would make the mark.

"Right!" Naruto responded with confidence as he furrowed his brows.

Sakura watched his arm carefully as it made a fluid motion and his wrist gave a quick flick. A sharp thud sounded as the kunai dug into the marked wall. Staring at him in shock, she was quite amazed. Most of her patients still struggled with moving their replacements with ease. Even Guy-sensei could barely walk on his prosthetic leg still.

"Jeeze, Naruto. I can't believe you're already progressing this far. I guess it's because of your healing capabilities. Soon, you won't even need physical therapy" She explained in a disbelief voice.

After hearing this, Naruto's stomach dropped. He had always looked forward to his appointments and had felt that the two of them had gotten rather close.

Seeing the disheartened look on his face, Sakura looked at him and asked "What's wrong with you? I thought you would be happy to hear that."

Regaining his composure, he replied "Oh, I'm happy. I just…I always look forward to seeing you. You know?

Sighing, Sakura rolled her eyes and karate chopped his forehead lightly. Flinching, Naruto expected a sharp pain, only to be surprised.

"You'll still see me, baka." Her voice resonated in his ears.

Laughing, Sakura felt glad deep down inside. During the last year, she had begun to enjoy their sessions as well. The sessions were an hour and a half long, but he came about four times a week. She grew to learn many things about him. During the first few sessions, she had wondered on how he felt and was quite surprised that he was good at dealing with his emotions compared to before.

Remembering back, she used to look down on him and thought he was lucky that he didn't have parents. However, when she saw his final goodbye to his father, it made her heart ache for him. She never realized what he had missed out on and to pass time she would ask questions about his parents and his life. Snapping back to the present, she glanced over at her patient.

Mumbling, Naruto sat there following her orders to throw things, catch things, and different locomotive skills. He knew he would see her still, but he liked having alone time with her. As he followed her commands, his eyes gazed over her. When she did her job, she was very passionate about it and her green eyes lit up. Since she kept her hair up while she worked, her forehead was exposed, and was even accented by her side bangs. Sometimes he wanted to kiss it, but he knew her feelings were with Sasuke.

Sitting there thinking about his feelings, his face became red and he shook his head side to side, violently. Taking notice of it, Sakura had asked him to sit still.

"Okay, well as far as being to move it goes, you're pretty much good. However, have you been able to use chakra effectively with it yet?" Looking into his eyes, she waited for his response, knowing he probably tried performing ninjustus outside of their sessions.

"Uhh…..Well…I still struggle with getting the chakra channels to work." Looking away, he mumbled in embarrassment. It sucked not being able to do the rasengan with it and not being able to blend chakra with it, only reminded him of his childhood struggles.

Not feeling surprised by that fact, Sakura's voice perked upwards. "I'm thinking that's what we need to start focusing on, here in our sessions."

Nodding, Naruto agreed and they began to work. Throughout the entire session, he felt flustered and frustrated. Deciding he was going to attempt the rasengan, he tried his hardest to blend the chakra and control it. This ended up with him being thrown across the room.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" She asked him as she watched him get up from the ground, being thankful he didn't hit anything.

Shrugging it off, he stared fiercely at the ground and wanted to avoid making eye contact. He wanted to show her his cool side, but he felt like he completely failed at that. However, she was still impressed by his progress, none the less.

"Alright, I think we're done here for today. I rather not have you damage the arm." Directing him, she motioned for him to rest.

Feeling aggravated, he complied because he wasn't about to be murdered today and he knew that would happen if he defied Sakura. "Okay..." Naruto replied in a heavy voice.

Once the appointment was over, Naruto struggled to put his jacket back on and stood up. Moaning, he didn't want to go back out in the cold, as the snow started falling. Sakura stood up next to him and looked out the window. The sight of a thin white blanket spreading over the village amazed her, as she found the snow quite beautiful. Next to her, instead of admiring the snow, Naruto was gazing at her face. Looking away from the window she turned to him and he snapped his head towards the window, hoping not to get caught.

Eying him, what she had noticed earlier was really true. Naruto was definitely going through another growth spurt, as the jacket was noticeably tighter and his wrists hung out from the sleeves.

"Would you stop growing already? Sheesh, you're like a head taller than me now!" Sakura sighed out in exasperation.

Feeling taken aback, Naruto just looked at her. To him, she looked even shorter and he compared their heights. He hadn't even noticed that he had gotten taller, as he had other things on his mind lately. Leaning back, he rubbed his head and smiled as he wasn't quite sure what to say. "Uh, I guess I am still getting taller."

Crossing her arms, she began to playfully pout. "I remember when you used to be a lot shorter than me, but now you're taller than half the people I know."

Hearing these comments gave him a confidence boost, since he used to have a complex over his height. Being cut off from his thoughts, Sakura looked at the time and gasped.

"Oh geeze, I'm supposed to be with another patient right now! I'll see you later, okay?" In a hurry, she was trying to shoo him out. She felt bad, but as he walked out of the room, she eyed him over. Noticing what she was doing, she shook her head and felt embarrassed as she waited for her next patient.


	2. Part 2

Outside, the wind had picked up and the cold blast stung his face. Sighing out, he looked up at the window and looked back at his arm. At least he still had sessions with her, even though he wanted his arm up to par.

"I guess I'll stop over at Ichiraku's and get some ramen." Mumbling to himself, he thought out his order as he walked away from the village hospital. Dragging his feet in the cold icy snow, he was swimming inside his own thoughts. To him, it was difficult to hold himself back since he knew she had someone else. Even though he saw Sasuke sometimes, they never talked about her. In fact he tried to avoid talking about her with him, since he felt jealous deep down.

Making his way through the market, something caught his eye. Stopping in his tracks, he glanced to his left. When he was out, he rarely ever went shopping so he barely ever walked through the market place. Looking around him, Christmas decorations had been put up and were beginning to gleam. Focusing back to the store in front of him, he made his way to it. Many things were crowded in the window display, but out of all the objects there, one caught his eye.

Pressing up against the glass, so that his breath fogged it up, his blue eyes sparkled in wonder. What had caught his eyes was a beautiful hair pin. It was in the shape of a cherry blossom; the green gems that adorned the pin, glimmered in the light just right. Remembering that Christmas was around the corner, a mischievous grin spread across his face. Glancing at the price tag quickly wiped the grin away and he felt a knot in his stomach.

Sighing, Naruto stood back and pulled his wallet out. His little green frog was looking on the slim side and his mouth drew a hard line. Looking back at the window, he made his mind up and decided he was going to use the money he earned on the little missions he went on. The ramen would have to wait, after all, he felt like _she deserved it_.

Ringing sounded in his ears as he opened the door to the jewelry shop, which caused him to look up at the bell above him. Closing the door behind him, a voice could be heard from the back of the store.

"Coming!" A male voice echoed towards the front.

Looking around, Naruto was astonished by all the glittery gems surrounding the store. However, he had his mind set on that pin, as it would be a perfect gift. Turning his attention toward the incoming footsteps, he saw a man pop into his view. The guy was tall and lanky, but his black hair was sleeked back and he was donned in black clothing. "Great…a weirdo." Naruto thought to himself bitterly.

"How may I help you, sir?" The man inquired as he looked over Naruto.

It wasn't often he got younger people in here, much less ones that looked like him. Noticing the clothing he wore, he scoffed as he felt that he was obviously going to have his time wasted. Shifting side to side, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"I want to buy that hair pin in the window. You know, the Cherry Blossom one?" Feeling embarrassed, Naruto looked down as he pointed to the window next to him.

Now seeing Naruto as a potential customer, the guy perked up. "Oh of course, what a lovely item!"

With a quick pace, the man walked over to the window and delicately plucked up the item. Bringing it to him, he decided to introduce himself. "I apologize, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Arata, and you sir have great tastes."

Feeling awkward, Naruto replied "Uh thanks, I'm Naruto."

At the sound of his name, Arata's eyes grew wide. "Naruto? As in Naruto Uzumaki?" He asked. After all, he had fit the description of the well-known star everyone in the village was talking about.

"Umm…yeah." Feeling himself go red in the face, he remembered how famous he had become and felt awkward. All he wanted to do was make his purchase and leave.

"Oh it's quite an honor to meet you! Hmmm I'll tell you what….I'll give you a ten percent discount!" Squealing, the man became excited over meeting Naruto.

Smiling, Naruto felt a bit better about purchasing the gift, so he fist pumped; then he followed Arata to the counter.

"Hmmm, I love the fact they used gold on this, as it goes great with the pink. I assume this is for your girlfriend?" Arata's voice shone with curiosity.

Blushing, Naruto looked away and mumbled out "She's not my girlfriend. She's just a really good friend is all…"

Smiling, Arata understood. "Ah, but you want her to be. So what is her name, so I can wrap the gift for you?"

"Sakura-chan." He replied.

"Ah a Sakura for a Sakura, how lovely. I'm assuming she was born in August because of the Peridots that ornate this piece." A grin spread across his face, as he was curious to learn more about the girl the item was intended for.

Feeling confused he replied "Um…why would Peridots say she was born in August? That's not when she was born."

"Oh, it's a birthstone. It's alright if you don't understand. Just it's a shame they chose Peridots as that's for summer and not spring." Arata began mumbling to himself as he wrapped up the gift.

"I don't care about birthstones or what-not, I just thought it would look perfect on her." Sighing, as he thought to himself.

After the purchase was complete, he made his way out of the shop; he felt thankful to be away from that guy, since he wouldn't stop pestering him. His footsteps sunk heavy into the ground, as it made him realize he was in there much longer than he should have. Looking up, he noticed that sun had started going down, he decided to hurry and grab ramen so that he could go home.


	3. Part 3

The next couple of days were much colder and snow had fallen heavy, making it harder to trudge through. Even though Sakura thought the snow was lovely, it was only lovely when she was indoors. Everything shined as the sun hit it, from the snow to the Christmas decorations. Feeling cheerful, she looked at all the decorations. The festive season had always been her favorite time of year, for many reasons. She enjoyed the holiday snacks and all the pretty lights that lined the village. People were cheerful around this time of year and more so this year, since it was a more peaceful time.

Walking through the market, she made her way to work, only to decide she still had time and wanted to look around. Different shops had opened up, and people were starting to spill out onto the streets. Wanting to get away from the incoming crowds, Sakura darted into a nearby shop. Being greeted by the warm air as she entered, she let herself relax and decided to look around at all the clothes. As she headed towards the back at the women's clothing, she stopped once she passed something interesting. Backtracking, she looked to see the flash of black and orange that had caught her eye.

A smile spread across her face, as the jacket she looked on reminded her of a certain someone. "Orange and black, huh? That's something Naruto would wear." She thought to herself. Shaking her head, she felt quite embarrassed that she was suddenly thinking of him. In fact, she found herself doing that a lot lately. She knew why, but didn't want to admit to herself; she wasn't ready for that.

Picking up the jacket, she looked it over. The material felt heavier than what she was used to wearing "that's men's clothing for you." Sighing out, she thought to herself as she held it.

Black was the main color, while the cuffs were orange with a single thin black stripe going through them. Not only were the cuffs orange, the sides of the zip up jacket had a thick orange stripe going down sides of it.

"Actually, this isn't a bad looking jacket. It's actually quite stylish for its type and color." Sakura muttered to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of bells outdoors. People were outside enjoying the season, and Sakura realized she was spending a lot of time in the store. Quickly regaining her composure, she put the jacket back and headed out the door.

Hours passed as she worked at the hospital. Many people had come in complaining about colds and flus. Sighing, she was glad that Naruto's appointment was closing in. She wanted to get away from the sick patients for a while, not that she hated her job, but the whining was getting annoying.

Her rounds around the hospital were finished just in time, and she made her way to her office. She still had a few minutes before Naruto was expected to arrive, give or take. Once she was in her office, she moved the desks and utilities around, expecting them to be in the way.

"If he attempts another rasengan with that arm, then he'll probably break something." She muttered to herself."

Scanning the room, Sakura was pleased with the space. She rolled her shoulders and looked at the clock, and was about to complain, but her train of thoughts were cut off by the sound of the doorknob turning.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" with an enthusiastic voice, Naruto greeted her.

Burrowing her face in her hand, Sakura grumbled. "You were almost late!"

Beaming at her, he replied "But I'm just on time!" he then let out a chuckle.

Throwing her hands up in the air, Sakura admitted defeat and motioned for him to come in.

"Alright, just take your jacket off so we can get started." Directing him, she crossed her arms while waiting.

Struggling slightly to remove the item, Naruto was eager to begin training. He felt like he was starting to improve blending chakra with the replacement arm. Setting the jacket down on her desk, he threw her a quick glance.

"Okay, so you just want me to start with blending chakra, right?" Asking with an excited voice, Naruto waited for her response.

"Yeah, let's start with that." She replied.

Looking down at his bandaged arm, Naruto focused. It took a few minutes, but he was able to feel the chakra running through the channels in the arm. Grinning, he looked back up at his doctor and exclaimed "Well, I'm able to get chakra running through the channels!"

Feeling impressed, Sakura grabbed his arm and examined it. "Okay, now I want you to focus bringing the chakra to the palm of your hand." She instructed him.

His face twisted with frustration and he let out a series of huffs. The task given to him took a lot of effort and energy. Once he felt chakra moving towards his palm, he decided to attempt the rasengan. Seeing the twinkle in his eye, Sakura's stomach dropped. That look only meant that something wrong was about to happen.

The next few moments happened with a flash, as Naruto slammed against the back wall.

"Baka! I thought I said to churn the chakra in your palm, not do the rasengan!" Feeling annoyed she stomped over to him and lifted him up. "If you ruin that arm, it'll be the last one you'll ever have!" Setting him to his feet, she grumbled and folded her arms.

"Yes, Sakura-chan….Please, don't kill me!" Curling up into himself, he whispered.

Even though Naruto was larger than Sakura, he knew she was capable of killing him. Frankly, he didn't have a death wish. So he settled for following her orders exactly, without putting a twist on them. The exercises were simple in theory, such as churning chakra with his hand and taking chakra paper and try to make it split. However, they exhausted him, much to his displeasure.

"Alright, Naruto. We're done here for today. Perhaps I can borrow a chakra weapon from someone to use for our next session." In a cheerful tone, Sakura said.

Naruto stretched his arms above his head as he stood up. "Yeah, that hair pin will look perfect!" he thought to himself brightly. At the thought of his gift in her hair, his face turned slightly pink that rivaled her hair color.

Sakura looked out the window and figured now was a perfect time than any. "So Naruto, you know how you told me before you don't really do anything for the holidays?" Looking back at him, she asked.

"Uh, yeah." Naruto replied with puzzled voice.

Watching him squeeze into his jacket, Sakura smiled and looked away. "Well…I was thinking that maybe you would like to join me for a get together on Christmas Eve next week." Even Sakura was beginning to turn pink in the face.

A huge grin broke out on Naruto's face at her offer and he began to think to himself. "She's asking me to be her date to a Christmas Party? Sweet!" Silently, he fist pumped in victory while she was looking away. Regaining his composure, he replied. "Yeah! Sure, I would love to!" Not being able to contain his enthusiasm, he shouted his response.

His excitement surprised Sakura, but she was glad he was happy. She wanted to do something nice to for him, as they had grown rather close. "Okay, well it'll be at my house at seven. Please, don't be late." Using a stern voice, she emphasized on the late part.

Nodding his head, he brought his clenched fists to his face and squirmed with excitement. "Okay, Sakura-chan!"

Naruto was giddy with excitement as he left her office; it practically radiated from him. Once he was out of earshot, Sakura mumbled "Baka." while she blushed. Being left alone with her thoughts, she decided would plan her date with him. Normally, she would have asked Sasuke to join, but he was busy lately. "It'll be just the two of us." She thought to herself.

By the time Sakura got done with her last patient, the sun had gone down and the village lit up with colorful lights. Many lanterns hung above the roads and there were sounds of bells everywhere. "Yup, definitely my favorite time of year!" She thought to herself as she made her way through the market. The snow crunched beneath her feet as she took each step. Lightly humming to herself, she decided to drop by that clothing store she went to that morning.

Being greeted by the warmth, Sakura quickly stepped inside and made her way towards the back of the store. "I might as well get something nice to wear." Smiling, Sakura liked the idea of dressing up. As she passed that jacket black and orange jacket, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Hmmm….If he's coming over for Christmas Eve, it'll be rude not to get him something. Besides, he needs a new jacket anyways." Going over towards the rack, Sakura looked at the different ones. However, the one that she felt fit him most, was that black and orange one.

She had managed to catch a glimpse of size tag on the jacket he wore earlier and decided to get him the next size up. If he needed any adjustments, they could be made later. Once the jacket was in her arms, she made her way towards the women's and picked something out for herself.

After she made her purchase, Sakura left the store blushing. "It's just Naruto…Why do I feel so embarrassed?" Deep down she knew why, but she shook her head and shrugged it off. "Baka!" She whispered silently to herself. Her face felt warm, despite the icy, cold air. Smiling, she decided she would enjoy the view on her way home.


	4. Part 4

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Naruto jolted awake with excitement. "Yes! Today's the day I actually have a date with Sakura!" Cheering loudly, Naruto jumped out of bed and squealed. He wanted to get ready right that second, but the get together wasn't for another eight hours.

As he ate breakfast, or in his case brunch, he wished that time had moved faster. After downing the last contents of his instant ramen, he left the table, leaving the container.

"Hmmm….what should I wear? I don't want to dress too fancy, but not too casual either." Rubbing his chin, he narrowed his brows as he thought to himself. "I'll just wear pants and a clean shirt, I guess. I still have that jacket too." He muttered with a heavy voice. When it came to clothing, he had either just casual clothing or his ninja attire. Frankly, he didn't want to even touch his funeral wear. After gathering up the pants and a white tee, Naruto headed off to the bathroom to get cleaned up. "I should at least look clean, I suppose."

The hours didn't pass by fast enough for Naruto. So he decided to head out for a walk and enjoy the decorations strung out around the village. He still had about an hour before he was supposed to be at Sakura's. Compared to all the days before, Christmas Eve was the coldest. His face stung, as the icy wind slapped at it. "Maybe this was a bad idea" while thinking to himself, he shivered.

However, he was able to refocus his mind on something else. It made him feel less cold. The thought of being Sakura's date warmed him up inside and he felt for the small wrapped box in his pocket. "heh heh." Filled with excitement, Naruto could not help but giggle.

Eventually, Naruto noticed himself standing outside of Sakura's house. Feeling nervous, he tried to come up with smooth things to say, only making himself feel dumb. He paced in front of her steps, clutching his head as he tried to keep his cool. Hot air was practically blowing out from his ears as his face turned red. Suddenly he heard a soft click, followed by creaking. Sakura eased open the front door and popped her head into view.

"Naruto?"

Grinning, Naruto felt awkward as he knew he looked uncool. Trying to his best to regain his composure, he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

Her eyes widen in shock, as he actually looked decent and made the effort to clean up. Sure he was wearing casual stuff, but it looked like he took the effort to clean his hair up and at least tried to dress nicely. Finding herself blushing, Sakura violently shook her head and huffed.

"Why are you just standing there? It's freezing out there, come in!" Swinging the door open wide, she leaned forward and grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him in.

Not wanting the cold air to seep in, she slammed the door behind them. Realizing she seemed sort of brutish there, she brushed herself off and tried to play off a slight giggle. "I can't believe you made me do that, Naruto." She thought to herself.

Instead of whining or complaining about what she had done, Naruto stood there dumbstruck. His eyes soaked up what was in front of him. Sakura was wearing a light green, knee length dress. It was matched with a cream colored long sleeved shrug. "She looks so…beautiful." Turning red in the face, Naruto tried to contain a nosebleed.

"Uh…Y-you l-l-look nice." He stammered out embarrassingly as he clutched his nose.

Sakura turned her head away and mumbled out a thank you. She was very happy with the clothes she picked out on that shopping trip. Turning back at him, she tucked a strand of her let down hair behind her ear.

"Well come on, the living room is all set up." Walking away, she left Naruto in his awe-stricken thoughts. Realizing he was standing there like a doofus, he smacked his head and followed her into the next room. There was no one else there, but a tree stood in the back corner, all lit up. Christmas Decorations also filled the room and there was some food on the table in the center, with some candles lit. The food looked store bought, but it was better than most things he ate on Christmas.

"Sakura, where are the others? I thought this was going to be a party?" He inquired.

"I never said it was a party. It's just the two of us. My parents went out on a date tonight, so you'll be keeping me company." She replied cheerily.

Humming a soft Christmas tune, she walked over to the table as gather up a couple of plates. "Well, don't you want to eat?"

Naruto could not believe it. He was alone with her. Of all people, he was alone with her. Not only that, but she was being nicer than normal. Not moving, or speaking, he didn't know what to do. His brain wasn't able to comprehend.

"Naruto?" This time, Sakura raised her voice a little.

Realizing that this indeed was happening, he cleared his head and stumbled towards the table. "Why is she spending this alone with me? What about Sasuke?" Feeling confused, he didn't utter a word as he made his plate.

He set down his plate and noticed Sakura finished fixing hers as well. Wanting to play it cool, he pulled her chair out for her. After all, he did learn a few things from Ero-sennin. At his gesture, Sakura couldn't help but feel embarrassed. No one had ever done that for her.

After she sat down, Naruto made his way towards the other side to his seat. Wanting to feel comfortable, he wiggled out of his cramped jacket and sat down. As they took slow bites, the silence in the room grew awkward. "Heh, this is nice food." Naruto tried to muster up.

"Yeah, I wanted to eat something nice this year, so I grabbed a turkey instead of a ham." She said with a perked up voice. The date was going a lot better than she thought it would. In fact, she never imagined that she would ever have a lovely date with Naruto.

Feeling lost in his thoughts, Naruto finished his food in silence. He couldn't help but admire Sakura's appearance from across the table. There were times he would dream up different dates with her, but he never expected to spend a holiday alone with her. He was happy, but something deep down kept tugging at him.

Once the plates were clear, Sakura stood up and stretched. Naruto had started getting up, when he heard a soft "thump". Looking down, it felt awkward that his gift for her dropped to the floor. "I feel stupid." He thought to himself.

"What was that?" Sakura's voice rang in his ears.

Leaning over to quickly pick it up, Sakura managed to see it before he hid it. A wide smile spread across her face. "Oh is that for me?" placing a finger to her cheek, she asked him.

"Uh…yeah." Turning pink again, he mumbled out the words. He didn't think he would be so embarrassed over a gift.

"Oh, hold on! I got one too." Rushing over towards the tree, Sakura lifted up a big package that was wrapped with a shiny red paper. Naruto's eyes went wide at the sight of the package. It took up most of her torso. Feeling giddy with excitement, he quickly exchanged the packages. They were both tearing the paper off eagerly, as they wanted to see what they had gotten each other.

As they opened the boxes, they both gasped out in unison. Naruto lifted the large jacket up, letting the box fall to the ground. Sakura delicately picked up her hair pin and was admiring how it glimmered in her hand.

"Wow…this must've been really expensive!" Awe-stricken, Sakura thought to herself.

"This is awesome! I can't believe she got me a new jacket!" giggling to himself, he examined the item closely. It was just what he needed.

They both looked back up at each other, not knowing what to say. Naruto felt excited, but then the thoughts he tried to push down earlier bubbled back to the surface.

"Sakura….can I ask you something?" Naruto's voice went soft. His face lost its smile, replaced with confusion.

"Sure." Smiling sweetly, Sakura looked up at him.

"Why? I mean, it's Christmas Eve and you're spending it with me. Why me? You're being nicer than normal…" as he spoke, his voice rose and his wording quickened. "I mean, you have Sasuke. Why aren't you doing all this for him? Don't you love him?"

Sakura's eyes flashed with anger from the way Naruto was acting. She went out of her way to do something nice for him and he was complaining. She showed him how she deeply cared about him and he threw it back in her face. In fact, he was pushing her away, on to Sasuke. Controlling the urge to punch him, Sakura raised her voice and replied "Baka! I'm spending it with you because I want to. Yeah, I loved Sasuke. But, he's just a close friend. A team mate. Sure, we go on missions together… That. Is. All. Hell, you see him more than I do and he's spending Christmas with Taka! Here I am spending Christmas Eve with you and you're whining about it. Can't you see that I care about you? Can't you see that I love y-" covering her mouth, she gasped at her last sentence.

Naruto felt like his heart had just been hit with an arrow. "What…what were you about to say?"

Sakura stared down at the ground and clenched her fists. Her face went fifty different shades of red in an instant. It wasn't the first time she had said that to him, however this time it was different. Back when she said that to him, she wasn't lying, but at the same time she was confused. This time, there was no denying it.

Deciding to get it over with, she softened her face and looked back up at him. "I love you." Feeling her face become hot, she tried to keep calm.

The words hit Naruto hard. He didn't know what to say and he could feel that she was being sincere. However, his mouth decided to start talking before he could think. "But, what about all those times with Sasuke? What about our promise of a life time?" His voice shook, unable to stay steady as he asked her a series of questions.

Having enough of Naruto's nonsense, Sakura stepped up close to him. Taking the jacket from his hands, she quickly flung it over his head, so that it wrapped around his shoulders. Then standing on her tippy-toes, she pulled him down towards her and brought her lips onto his.

Her sweet scent filled his nose and his lips felt her warmth. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he liked it. Moments passed and Sakura let go, her green eyes sparkled as she looked him in the eyes. If Naruto's jaw could drop any lower, it would hit the ground. Still trying to comprehend what just happened, he began trying to form words with his lips.

"Believe me now?" Using a firm, yet sweet voice she asked as she pressed her free hand against his chest.

Realizing that this was his chance to show her his cool side, he replied with "Yes." in a warm tone. Any doubts he had previously were washed away with that kiss. He wanted to run outside and fly, while shouting to the world, but instead he wanted to feel her warmth.

"I really meant what I said…back on that snowy day. Everything was hectic and I wasn't ready to own up to what I had done…but, I am now. Naruto, you've always been there for me. You're by my side, helping me to become a better person. You've grown up so much and words could never explain how I feel." As she spoke, she drew in closer to him, wanting to feel his heart beat.

"Naruto, thank you for everything you've done. Thank you, for being there and being a man that we need…Thank you, for being the man I need." Mumbling softly, she could hear his heart pounding in his chest. It made hers pound even faster.

Softly taking the hair pin from her, Naruto tried his hardest to put her hair up. Even though it was messy, she still looked beautiful. "You're welcome, Sakura. Also, thank you for everything." With a soft voice, he murmured as he kissed her forehead.

Leaving her face even redder, he leaned back. The soft grin he had on his face broke out to a huge one, as he decided to be cheeky. "So uh, does this make us boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Sighing, Sakura knew he was always going to have this side to him. "Yes, baka!" She replied with a light hearted voice.

"Also, this means you get to spend Christmas with my family as well. However, you'll need to help with the cooking and cleaning. You can always use your shadow clones." Trying to add to the humor, Sakura said to him with a giggle.

Warmth spread throughout his body and he was brimming with happiness. He always wanted to spend Christmas with a family to call his own. Nodding his head, he grasped her hands and replied. "Yeah! Of course! I'll do anything!"

Letting out a soft chuckle, Sakura drew him back into a hug. Once she was satisfied, she let him go. Remembering that the jacket was hanging around his shoulders, Sakura glanced up at his face.

"Since I'm wearing the hair pin you gave me, I want you to properly put on that jacket. I want to see how it looks." Directing him, she motioned for him to do so.

Slipping it on with ease, he quickly zipped it up. It wasn't too baggy on him and it wasn't too tight either. The jacket fit really well and as Sakura eyed him over, she could feel herself blushing again. "Looks good." She mumbled out.

Feeling exhausted, she walked over to the couch and sat down. Following her lead, he sat down next to her. At first he didn't know what to do, but he wrapped his bandaged arm around her shoulders and drew her close. He still felt like he was dreaming, but he knew this was all real and nothing made him happier. They ended up spending the night away enjoying each other's company as they chatted away.


End file.
